What do you take for 4+ hour rides, when you know there is no cafe stop?

Yes, yes. Another how do I ride further thread 😉

Mini malt loaves, dried apricots, Eat Natural bars, Mars or Snickers, possibly some jelly babies.

An e-bike

Belvita breakfast bar, flap jack, Soreen, banana

A sandwich. Don’t over think it.

Depends…
Is it hard ride/race….
Or just a nice long ride…

If it’s rice, then sugary gel type goop… easy and fast to eat…

Normal ride = normal food…sarnies, pizza etc

DrP

Whatever you want to eat on a long ride. Prefer solid food over sports stuff, so chewy bars, something savoury as well.

Though why would you do a ride without a cafe? What kind of madness is that?

Though why would you do a ride without a cafe? What kind of madness is that?

Damn good Q. However on Monday we did 4+ hours round the Aberfoyle area with no cafe option. And Friday we did a 6 hour winter hill walking day. On both I didn’t eat enough. The latter was just not stopping in the weather – had loads in my rucksack; the former I just went out with outdoor provision bars which wasn’t enough. Today we are going out for another 40 mile gravel ride and I’m thinking what to raid as we ride past the coop, that is easy to carry.

DrP – definitely nice long slow ride. The word race doesn’t feature in my vocabulary!

Some classic suggestions above, though a lot of carb and sugar. No protein?

Some of the dried fruit/Soreen stuff is a non starter for me, as IBS + no cafe stop is a potential disaster!!! (Over share!)

Christmas cake.
Sandwiches.

It is quite useful to know the whereabouts of all the easily accessible apple trees on your ride.

We’ve pivoted away from “specialist” cycling products towards a mix of more ordinary food.
We make a trail mix with nuts, dried apricots/ cherries, mint imperials and wine gums/ jelly babies/ haribo.
Regular nut/ fruit bars – sweet and savory.
Pressed fruit bars
Those sachets of pulped fruit with a screw off lid
Ginger cake
Sandwiches
Etc etc.

Malt loaf, a banana, some nature bars and lots of SIS gels. Plus bloks for ad libitem continuous grazing (three packets). Eat something every 30-40min switching solid and gel, and eat a decent bowl of porridge with brown sugar before you go.

Good for 8hour rides. For longer I have a special mix of mashed rice and tuna plus semolina in freezer bags, but we won’t go there 🤣

Coke* and carbs

*your favourite variety

Isotonic carb drink (decathlon’s powdered drink is really good) then mini malt loaf, some bananas, cerial bars/oat bars. Gels for emergencies

I’m assuming you are stopping to eat rather than fishing food out of your pockets whilst riding?

I have issues with gluten heavy foods (bloating) and can’t eat nuts. I prefer savoury food so my go to lunches are:

Frittata – home made if I have time otherwise from Morrisons.
Oatcakes and Primula cheese.
Proper cheese sandwich but with Ryvita
Home made beef jerky
Home dried fruits – banana, apple, peach mostly
Jelly beans for a fast sugar hit if necessary.

cold pizza for me on long days out. and zip loc bags of mixed olives.
and liquorice.

Seems I’m over simplifying my ride eats, generally don’t eat breakfast anyhow, if no suitable leftovers in the fridge I just pick up a couple of scotch eggs from wherever, maybe a wrap, have one late morning and the rest for late lunch. Never take any of these sports foods, sugery sweets etc, does me fine.

I seem to do a mix of everything suggested.

I carry a bottle of isotonic energy drink for sipping when eating isn’t an option. At the start of the ride I tend to eat more complex carbs like cereal/breakfast bars, flapjacks or rice cakes. Towards the end of a ride I eat more sugary things so stuff like fruit, jelly beans and jelly babies. I always take a caffeine gel as an emergency get out of jail free card.

One of the best pieces of advice i was ever given for rides like this is to take food that you are going to want to eat and don’t over think the nutrition profile. At the end of the day what you need are calories, in any form, if you like it and want to eat it you will, if on the other hand you don’t fancy it, well it’s not going to help sitting in your bag/pocket.

Newbie error: buy some “energy bars” from your local supermarket the day before and then find out on the ride that they are dry-as-dust inedible lumps of raw squashed porridge oats.

Porridge for breakfast.
Cheese and pickle sandwiches. Bonus points if using home-made bread.
Windfall apples.

We’re now supposed to think of ourselves as ‘athletes’ needing ‘sports nutrition,’ mainly so people can sell us stuff. Outside of cutting edge competitive sport, you’ll be fine on a couple of cheese rolls, flapjack, tangfastics and whatever else you can fit in your luggage of choice without it getting squashed.

*See also the ‘stay hydrated or die’ bollox designed to shift camelbacks and sports drinks.

First of all, I take food, not fuel. 😀 I’m typically out for 3 hour rides and wouldn’t eat during that time. If it’s going to be much longer then Peanut butter and honey rolls are my ” energy” food, though I’ll otherwise just take rolls with cold meat, cheese, coleslaw whatever.

Jelly babies for a short sugar hit.

Chocolate covered nuts and raisins.

I almost always have a pack of energy sweets or a gel with me too but they’re always going out of date.

Maccy Ds – 99p cheese burger:
1200 calories all the basic food groups covered.

Hit the drive through nearest to the halfway point of your ride, spend the return leg trying to out run the shame…

A ~225g bag of jelly babies.

Food.

But et well beforehand and you won’t need much.  4 hr ride I would only take some snacks.    Only if its all day do I take food then its sandwiches / pies / cakes

Pork pies, chocolate chip brioche buns and peanut butter and apple turnovers, a bottle of rioja and or money for the pub.

@ahsat
The ‘feed zone portables’ book is really good.. Nice little recipes in there…
I’ve a spare copy if you’re anywhere near the south coast.. you can have it!
DrP

I always make Elvis sandwiches. Crusty cob filled with streaky bacon, peanut butter and apricot jam. Also date and coconut chewy bar. They gave me the recipe at the Marquis Drive cafe and I make a pile of that with added cherries and sultanas.

Another good one is boiled new potatoes with some olive oil and salt in a ziploc bag.

I like mini pork pies. Quite moist, fit in a pocket, stronger than scotch eggs. Plus they work as normal food as well.

The problem with scotch eggs is that they are quite a lot to eat at once and don’t really handle being half-eaten. I’ve had the mini scotch eggs but the ratio of breadcrumbs:filler isn’t great.

Pub

Chippy

It’s like you didn’t even read the OP. Awfy short of pubs and chippies in the Hielands, as you know!

I did, it said no cafe stop 😋

Seconding mini pork pies. Densely calorific, salty and tasty. Perfect after 3 hr stint. Combine with a snickers for turbo boost.

I wish I could find my thread from years ago where I listed what I ate on my WHW ride. It was seriously a lot.

Doing the Lord of the loops peak ride mid lockdown involved a very heavy rucksack.

On a related, but tangential, note I bought a standard sized baguette today and just discovered that my son has eaten it for lunch with his tomato salad. All 24 inches or whatever is was.

We tend to eat stupid amounts in my family.

Mini Melton Mowbrays, your favourite hard cheese, boiled eggs. cake, marzipan. dried fruit and nuts. Wash it all down with full fat milk. Don’t be surprised if you put on weight during the ride, but at least you won’t bonk. If it’s just over 4 hours then the eggs and cheese will probably be enough, the rest is for proper long rides.

Chocolate spread sandwiches!
Or
Ham and cheese sandwiches sometimes you just want food. Mini pork pie third’d

And Haribo obviously

Strawberry jam and cheese sandwiches – blimmin’ brilliant 🙂

Also a few slices of flapjack if you like that sort of thing, and a bag of jelly babies for emergencies.

I do like bananas, too, but carrying the peel around until you can get rid of it can get messy so I tend to avoid them.